Sōta Hirayama facts for kids
Hirayama in 2010
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sota Hirayama | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 June 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Kunimi High School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Heracles Almelo | 32 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2016 | FC Tokyo | 169 | (33) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Vegalta Sendai | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 201 | (41) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Japan U-20 | 8 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Japan U-23 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Japan | 4 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Sota Hirayama (平山 相太, Hirayama Sōta, born 6 June 1985) is a former Japanese football player. He was known for being a tall and strong forward. He played for several clubs, including Heracles Almelo in the Netherlands and FC Tokyo in Japan. He also represented the Japan national team.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Sota Hirayama showed great talent for football from a young age. When he was a teenager, he went to Kunimi High School in Nagasaki Prefecture. There, he became a star player.
High School Success
Hirayama helped his high school team win the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament almost every year he was there. He scored an amazing 17 goals in the tournament between 2001 and 2003. This made him the top scorer in the tournament's history. After finishing high school in 2004, he went to University of Tsukuba.
Playing in Europe
In July 2005, Hirayama moved to the Netherlands to play football professionally. He joined Heracles Almelo, a team in the top Dutch league called the Eredivisie. He made his first professional appearance on August 20, 2005. In that game, he played for only 15 minutes but scored 2 goals! He finished his first season with 8 goals in 31 games.
Returning to Japan
In 2006, Hirayama returned to Japan and signed with FC Tokyo. He quickly became an important player for the team. In 2009, he helped FC Tokyo win the J.League Cup by scoring a goal in the final match.
However, FC Tokyo was moved down to a lower league in 2010. Hirayama faced tough times with injuries, breaking his leg in 2011 and again in 2012. These injuries made it hard for him to play many games. Even so, he continued to contribute to the team. FC Tokyo returned to the top league in 2012.
In 2017, he moved to Vegalta Sendai. Sadly, he got injured again right after the season started and couldn't play any games that year. In January 2018, because of his many injuries, Sota Hirayama decided to retire from professional football.
Playing for Japan
Sota Hirayama also played for Japan's national teams at different levels.
Youth National Teams
- In 2003, at just 17 years old, he played for the Japan U-20 national team in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. He scored two important goals in that tournament.
- In 2004, he played for the Japan U-23 national team in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
- He also played in his second World Youth Championship in 2005.
Senior National Team Debut
Hirayama made his debut for the senior national team on January 6, 2010. It was a qualifying match for the 2011 Asian Cup against Yemen. Japan was losing 2–0, but Hirayama scored three goals, known as a hat trick, to help Japan win 3–2! This was a very rare achievement, as it was only the second time in 80 years that a Japanese player scored three goals in their first game. He played 4 games and scored 3 goals for Japan in 2010.
Awards and Honours
Sota Hirayama won several awards and honours during his career, especially with FC Tokyo.
Club Honours
- FC Tokyo
- J.League Cup: 2009
- Suruga Bank Championship: 2010
- J2 League: 2011 (when FC Tokyo won the second division)
- Emperor's Cup: 2011
Images for kids
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Hirayama in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Sōta Hirayama para niños
